X Men Evolution: The Phoenix
by Darkstorm Anon
Summary: The Evo world as we know it is upside down. The X-men face their greatest foe, Apocalypse. Jean must face her growing powers, Apocalypse, and her love for Scott. All this while some X-men join Apocalypse, and have their powers enhanced, like Rogue and
1. Dawn

Phoenix's Dawn

August 14, 2003

Darkstorm Anon,  DarkstormAnon@hotmail.com

Update 1

(I am completely rewriting the first chapter, how Jean acquires the Phoenix, because of reader feedback.  They seem to prefer the style of the second chapter better than the first.  Anyway after writing the second chapter, "The Phoenix Awakens" I was much more pleased with that and I was thinking about rewriting it.  Just so you know I am writing this just after Dark Horizons and Apocalypse has just been released so we don't really know Apocalypse's game yet.)

Update 2

Apparently the formatting and spacing didn't carry over well last time I posted on fanfiction, so I'm trying this way.  I really really really need feedback, desperately.  I've finished Chapter 3 (It was supposed to be the last chapter).  I'm writing Chapter 4 now, but it takes a long time for me to write.  The setting of this story was after Dark Horizons, when Apocalypse first came out, so we didn't know his game so don't get mad at me if you've seen Ascension and these aren't his horsemen or the same plot.  Also we hadn't seen Spyke's transformation yet either.  Please please please review.

Lorna's School, California:

A girl sits at her desk in school.  Her name is Lorna Layne.  She has brown hair, but it has a faintly green sheen to it.  She looks out the window toward the seashore and sighs.  She looks back at the teacher.  She lays her head down on the desk.  The teacher in the background is talking about igneous rock.

"Lorna, stay awake," her teacher commands.

She looks up.  Everything's shape is there, but there are magnetic auras around all the objects, of varying intensities.  The lights, computers, and electrical wiring in the walls are particularly bright.

She squeezes her eyes, and opens them back up.  Everything is back to normal, this time.  The teacher in the background drones on about rocks, how boring.

Artic:

Rock and metal are strewn amongst the ice and snow.  Sabertooth comes out from behind some wreckage.  He is smelling around and throwing things about.  He finally locates a spot, and begins digging.  He grins in his oh so charming way, and holds the Crystal of Cytorac in front of his face.

The Future (approximately 10 years):

A crazed mad man is inside a cave surrounded by arrays of computers, with prisoners shackled on one wall.  He snorts, "You don't understand, do you?  I am the Mimic, your mutant powers are my mutant powers."  Cyclops, Havoc, Wolverine, Polaris, and Jean are there.  All are aged except Wolverine.

"Oh yeah?  This metal ain't mutant, bub," Wolverine jumps toward Mimic.

"Don't insult me."  He turns around, his eyes turn red as he belts out one of Cyclops's trademarked blasts, knocking Wolverine against computer panel.  He stretches out his hand toward Polaris, knocking her back with Havoc's blast.  Havoc stands up and is about ready to attack as he is knocked back by one of his own blasts.

"You don't hurt my brother!" Scott screams.  He unleashes a force blast as the Mimic puts up one of Jean's psychic shields.  The blast is deflected and knocks down rubble from the wall.  He attempts to blast Jean away.  She puts up a shield of hers own, the typical one that all have seen quite frequently.

Mimic carries on, "Very well."  He belts out with a scream similar to Banshee.  Everybody in the room cringes in agony, covering their ears, except Jean.  The mimic attempts to barrage her with metal objects.  The objects pound harmlessly against her mental shield then fall against the ground.

She steps closer, her feet pounding in the Mimic's ears.  "So you can copy mutant powers?"  The a flaming being stretches its wings out from her.  "Not all of my power is mutant."  She reaches out her hands.  Flames consume the Mimic.

"You pride yourself on your ability to take of others which does not belong to you.  From now on, you will be forced to take their pain, and not their powers."  She steps back, the flaming wings fold back into Jean.  She looks at the shackles on the wall as they all spontaneously open.  The prisoners flee.

Jean runs over to Scott, clenching his stomach.  Mimic is in the same pain.  Scott pulls some handcuffs from behind his back, and tosses them toward Havoc.  "I'm too hurt, you cuff him."

"Gladly."

The Institute, present day:

Xavier and Jean come out of the Cerebro room and head outside.  Scott, Kurt, Bobby, Samuel, Beserker, and Tabitha are playing basketball, or rather playing a version of Mutant Ball.  Kurt teleports above the net with the ball.  He attempts to dunk it in, but Scott shoots it out with his optic blast.  Samuel grabs a hold of the ball flying above the court and heads down to the basket as Berserker zaps the ball from his hands.  Bobby makes a funnel toward the basket as the basketball circles around inside it.  Tabitha throws a few time bombs into it.  They spin to the bottom before the ball and blow the bottom out of the funnel as it comes crashing down shattering into thousands of ice crystals.  Jean takes the ball out of the funnel as it comes crashing down, and levitates the ball toward her hands.  Professor Xavier purports, "Cerebro has found a new mutant, Lorna Dane."

"Aww, why do we have to go?  Couldn't we take some time to just chill?" Kurt complains.

"Yeah, shouldn't we be worrying more about Apocalypse?" Scott asks.

Jean laughs, "Said the guy playing basketball?"

"Until we have a lead on Apocalypse we must continue about our regular business, this includes attracting new students," Xavier explains, "Anyway, I believe you will enjoy this excursion, to the sunny beaches of California."

"All right," Berserker lets out.

Scott elbows Kurt, "Ladies, watch out for the fuzzy man."

California's Beeches:

Ray and Samuel are trying to surf, but are having a rather difficult time at it.  Cannonball blasts off when he gets frustrated.  Kurt builds sandcastles and then stomps on them.   Sunspot is sunbathing.  Rogue is sitting under an umbrella reading Poe.  Multiple Man is playing beach volleyball with himself.  Amara is playing in the water with Tabitha as she eyes a boy.  Tabitha says to Amara as she is running off, "I'll be back later, don't wait up."

Kurt runs up to Rogue, "Hey sis, you didn't come all the way out here to read.

"Gee, I should have stayed at home.  If you don't stop bugging me I'll have to put you down."  She ungloves her hand.

"Okay," Kurt backs up, "Have it your way.  You just don't know what you're missing."

After the he leaves Tabitha runs up to Rogue, "Hey you see those two hunks, let's go over there and talk to them."

"I don't know."

"Oh come on," Tabitha grabs Rogue by the glove in a Rysti sort of way and the two walk off, strutting toward the boys.

Xavier turns to Logan and Storm, "Logan, Ororo, Scott, you watch the children."

Logan growls, "I don't like sand in my shorts."

Xavier looks at him, "So deal with it."  He turns to others beside him, "Jean, Kitty, you'll be coming with me."

Bobby chimes in, "Can I come too, I don't like sand in my shorts either?"

"Yes you may, she is closer to your age.."  He turns around, " She lives right down the street if any of you need me."

The group walks down the street as bike riders and skaters speed by.  One of them bumps the professor, "Get out of the way Speedy."  Bobby, through his bare feet, sends a beam of ice along the sidewalk.  The ice clogs up the guy's rollerblades.  He stumbles and falls into the sand.  Bobby smirks, Jean laughs, and Professor gives him a strong rebuke, "Bobby, you know you shouldn't do that."  The professor then chuckles under his breath, not letting the students see it.  They approach an apartment complex.  He looks upstairs.  Xavier looks around.  "Jean."  Jean levitates him up the stairs.  The whole group is up by the door as Lorna approaches.

Lorna is talking with her friend.  Her friend comments, "Too bad I have to be in school when its such a wonderful day outside.  I wish I hadn't of failed last semester."

Lorna responds, "Hey, I didn't fail, I'm just trying to graduate early."

"Hey, whose the strangers up there?" her friend inquiries.

"I don't know.  Wait for me down here," they approach the bottom of the stairs.

Xavier turns around, "Oh, there you are, Lorna.  Hello, I am Professor Charles Xavier."  Introductions are made.

Bobby Drake gestures, stretching out his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."  Lorna readily refuses it.

"What are you doing here?" Lorna questions, "And how do you know my name?"

"We are here to discuss your… unique gifts" Xavier explains, "You might want to let Sarah, at the bottom of the stairs go, you might not want anybody you know to overhear us."

"No, I think she will stay with me, Sarah, come up here," Lorna shouts down.

"It's happened again today hasn't it?"  Jean drives, "You see things, don't you?  Sometimes it just happens, without you knowing it.  It's happened all of your life.  You know you are not like everyone else.  Your mother knows it too.  That is why you've died your hair since you were small."

She steps back, her friend grabs her, "Hey, lets leave these freaks alone, you wanna get out of here?"

"No, I think I'll hear them out."  Lorna stutters, "Why don't you head on home?"

"Okay then," she eyes Lorna and the strangers, "so I won't meet you at the beach today?"

"Whatever."

"Well I was hoping to meet with your mother, but it appears she is not in right now.  Bobby, why don't you two go down to get something to eat?  Jean will meet you shortly."

After the two get out of sight.  "Jean, bring me down, I didn't want to scare her."

Ice Cream Shop Next to the Rest of the Team:

Bobby and Lorna are eating ice cream.  Jean arrives, orders something, then sits down."

"So you are saying I'm a mutant?" Lorna asks talking to Bobby.

"Afraid so, none of asked to be mutants, we were all born this way," Jean interrupts.

Lorna covers her eyes with her hands, it is not clear if she is crying or she is seeing auras again.

Bobby tries to perk her up, "Hey, it does come with some advantages."  He reaches over, grabs her melting ice cream cone, and reshapes and hardens it.  He hands it back and she laughs. 

A bright white light appears outside the ice cream shop, Lorna sees it as an oscillating purple, orange, and blue light.  She falls backward.  The nearby X-men notice it and come running from the beach.  They know it means trouble.  The object solidifies into Apocalypse's ship.

Lorna runs out of intuition.

A mist rolls out of the ship as it opens.  Juggernaut pounds out, tentacles appear from behind him.

Wolverine growls, "You?"

"It is nice to see you old friend" a Russian voice hisses.  From behind Juggernaut steps the specter of Omega Red.

"So some nut job decided to thaw you out, bub?"

"Not just any nut job, the big guy himself," Red points behind him.

Apocalypse simply stands in the vessel, behind him Mesmero.  Mesmero commands, "Bring me the girl."

"All in good time, slick, where's Charlie?" Juggernaut grunts.

"He's not here at the moment," Nightcrawler comments, "but if you care to leave a message, he'll get back to it as soon as we kick your butt."

He teleports on top of Juggernaut and takes a clip off his helmet.  Sunspot attempts to blow him back, but the Juggernaut advances.  Mamga joins with him but it does little to stop the unstoppable.  Cannonball pounds Juggernaut as Iceman puts an ice sheet under him.  Juggernaut looses his footing falling, creating a crater in the ground, cracking the ice in a spider-web pattern.

Jean is focusing, "I… I can't contact the Professor, there must be some sort of interference."

"I know exactly where it is coming from." Scott attempts to blast Apocalypse's ship.  Apocalypse simply puts up a shield that remains with him through the whole battle.  Cyclops's blast careens toward some of the people.  Scott blows the footing out from underneath a person right as his previous optic beam passes over the civilian's head, blasting a palm tree.

Omega Red flails his tentacles amongst the fleeing crowd.  He runs one across a wall, bricks tumble amongst the terrified horde.  Jean keeps some from falling, but not them all.  The bricks trap a man.  Shadowcat jumps in and pulls him out.  The man is stunned, looks at Kitty, calls her a freak, then runs.  Jean takes the bricks that she caught and hurls them at Apocalypse's ship: the bricks bounce off the shield and fall harmlessly to the ground.

Multiple Man splits up and starts throwing rocks, bricks, and whatever he can find at Omega Red.  Omega Red simply knocks all of them down with a single stroke.  He recombines unconscious.

Wolverine yells, "Stay out of his reach kids, I can take it."  Wolverine lunges toward Omega Red.  Omega Red easily whacks him out of the way onto the roof of a nearby building.  Wolverine slashes off the neon sign.  It crashes down on Omega Red.

Kitty runs up to Juggernaut.  He attempts to hit her.  His hand goes right through her and knocks a big blue mailbox far into the ocean.  She jumps up, grabs a hold of his helmet and simply pulls it through Juggernot as it falls into the ground and sinks.  She lets go as it is half buried in concrete.   "This is getting too easy."

Storm blasts Apocalypse's ship with a gust; it doesn't move.  She then summons lighting.  Apocalypse redirects the lightning back at her, throwing her from the sky.

"No!!!" Juggernaut yells, he pulls up the chunk of concrete containing his helmet.  He tries to break off the concrete, but it is bonded to tightly with his helmet.  He gets mad and throws it at the crowd circling around the scene watching.  Storm brings a gust of wind to deflect it upwards, but it is going too fast.  Nightcrawler teleports on top of the helmet, then teleports the whole thing far into the air.  It keeps its velocity, skyrocketing away as Nightcrawler rejoins the team.

Omega Red emerges from the rubble.  "I would love to finish this off comrade, but I have business to attend to, he looks back at Mesemero nodding in approval."

"I ain't gonna let you walk away you coward," Wolverine snaps as he chops a palm tree, that falls in Omega Red's direction.  Red deflects it.

"Your metal, how much voltage can you take?" Berserker zaps him, but it appears uneffective.

Storm gets the idea, "She flies into the air, a cloud forms around her.  Lighting focuses itself on her as she hits Omega Red with a full blast of nature's fury."

"You do not get it you foolish Americans?  Lighting does nothing to me, my armor grounds me," Red haughtily laughs.

A frustrated Mesmero takes control of some of the crowd as they follow him away.

Juggernaut stands back up and pounds his foot, sending all the ice on the ground flying upwards.  Scott blasts most of the ice away.

Boom Boom and Rogue are down the street, hanging on the arms of two boys.  They see the commotion and start running.  Boom Boom wriggles her way through the crowd surrounding the scene.  Rouge yells at her that she can't enter the crowd; Rogue is clothed only in her swimsuit, gloves and sandals.

Boom Boom shouts, "Mutants coming through" and tosses a handful of her firecrackers on the ground.  As they explode the crowd jumps away.  Rogue and Boom Boom run to the aide of the team.

Boom Boom launches a double load of her timebombs under Juggernaut's feet.  It hardly phases him.  She runs up, and throws some down his armor.  She is brushed away by Juggernaut's heavy hand.  The firecrackers thud in the suit, apparently doing no harm.

Nightcrawler looks at his sister, "Ready to go princess?"

"Don't call me that."

Nightcrawler grabs Rouges gloved hand, she has already shucked the other one, as they bamf over Juggernaut.  She lands on top of him.

"Déjà vu all over again," she says.

Juggernaut falls over, but quickly gets back up.  Juggernaut throws a clumsy punch at Rouge.  Rogue ducks and spins around, kicking his feet out from underneath him.

Wolverine commands, "Iceman, chill out this punk, you too storm, put this guy on ice."  Both of them focus their powers on Omega Red.

Lorna is standing next to a brick wall apparently staring at it, but in reality she is watching the scene through her magnetic perception.  Mesmero walks up behind her, the crowd behind him and puts his hand on her shoulder."

"If I cannot move, so be it."  Omega Red reaches over and grabs Jean by the neck, who was intent on hurling objects at Apocalypse's vessel.  Both of them start levitating, but Red's stranglehold on Jean puts her out.  Omega Red starts to ice over.

"No," Wolverine orders, "if he cant let go of Jean, she will die."

"Let go you ogre," Scott yells.  He blasts Omega Red, knocking the ice off, but enabling him to move.

Omega Red grabs his side in pain.  He menaces toward Cyclops, "For that I will not only suck the life out of her, but I will snap her neck as well."

Cyclops blasts him back again, through several walls.  Omega Red drops Jean's lifeless body as he flies backward.  Cyclops runs to Jean's body, cradling the limp body in his arms.

Mesmero and Lorna return to the vessel.  Mesmero commands, "We have what we have come for, return."

Juggernaut grimaces, "Fine, since Charlie ain't here I don't got no reason to be either."  Rogue then hits his forehead with a karate move, with the ball of her fist, knocking him backward.

Cyclops sees Omega Red returning.  Cyclops blasts him again, but he runs behind the remains of a wall and jumps on board the ship.  As the ship closes up both Rogue and Wolverine are charge it.  Apocalypse psychically knocks both of them back.

Boom Boom throws a time bomb into the ship as it disappears, "One for good measure."

Cylcops sits on the ground, not willing to let go of Jean.

Kitty contacts Charles telepathically.  "Help Professor!"

Charles responds, "Kitty, I'll be right there, I was at the museum."

A crowd starts gathering around the exhausted bunch.  "Monsters…Mutants" they scream as well as other things.  "Look what you have done."  "They're the same freaks from New York."  "You think you are all big and bad with your powers?  Well eat brick." They begin pelting the team with garbage.

Boom Boom cries, "Get away."  She throws firecrackers underneath them.  The crowed, scared, runs.

The X-Jet comes overhead.  The crew boards, Cyclops carrying Jean's body on board.

The Future:

Scott and Jean walk out of a restaurant holding hands.  Scott says, "I'm so glad we could get some time together."

"I'm brought you here to tell you, I finally understand what I must do.  I need to leave." Jean explains.

"What?" Scott queries confused.

"The dreams I've been having, I now realize how I got the Phoenix, next to you it has been the best thing in my life, of course it has also caused me the most pain of my life."

"No, I can't let you go through that again, not with what it did."

"I must go Scott," she steps away from him, crying.  Scott attempts to console her, but flames leap from her and Scott is forced back.

Jean rockets toward the sky.  Scott yells in emotional pain.

A Gothic Style Church (the Future):

Scott knocks on the door of a rectory.  Kurt opens the door.

"Hey Kurt, I didn't know where else to go, I need a place to crash" Scott slurs.  "She left me, she just left me."

Kurt takes Scott under his arm, and supports him as they walk inside, "Scott, I was given something a long time ago to give to you."  Kurt lays Scott down on the couch.  Kurt teleports to his room.  Kurt rustles around his bookshelf looking for something, he pulls a white envelope out of a bigger yellow one.  He teleports back into the common room only to find Scott passed out.  He lays the envelope on his chest.  "Scott" is written in a delicate script.

Jean's Funeral:

A priest drones on, "Now this is not a memorial of Jean's death, but rather a celebration of her life."

The whole X-men cast is assembled, even the New Recruits returned for Jean's funeral.  The Brotherhood is there, minus Wanda.  Pietro is sitting back in his chair, looking at his watch, unsure of what to do.  Even Todd is in a collared shirt, although ruffled it is the thought that counts.  Fred is dressed in his best clothing, with a bouquet of flowers.  Fred is sobbing uncontrollably.  Todd reaches up and pats him on the back, "There, there, we here for you, man."

Duncan and some of his friends are all sitting together.

Jean's sister is giving the eulogy, but nobody is listening.  Amara is crying and Tabitha sits next to her, attempting to comfort her, but Tabitha herself is crying.

Rogue is sitting, looking at the ground.  She is not crying, but obviously in pain.  Rogue quickly stands up and walks away.  Kitty was beside her, sobbing.  Lance sits down next to Kitty, hesitant of what to do.  Kitty reaches over and starts crying on his shoulder.  Lance is taken aback.  Toad looks over and sticks out his tongue.

Scott sits behind the family, arms folded, stoic.  He reaches under his glasses and wipes something away, a tear.  Wolverine is noticeably absent.

Elsewhere:

Wolverine is at a bar playing pool.

Funeral Grounds (After the Funeral):

Ororo and Hank are standing behind Charles Xavier.  Eric Lechner approaches Charles Xavier, "I know this must be tough for you."

"Actually it is, she was my prize pupil, the student I was most attached to."

"You seem remarkably composed."

"I have to be, with my… burden," Xavier is uncharacteristically disturbed.

"You talk as if…" Lechner is interrupted by John Grey.

"Charles, I don't care how long I've known you.  I hold you personally responsibe," John Grey asserts, angry.

"I take all blame and…"

"You deliberately put my daughter in an extremely dangerous situation, much less, without my consent.  You know I would have disapproved so you avoided me," Mr. Grey begins yelling.

"I know I should have…."

"I hope to never see you again," Mr. Grey storms off.

Professor Xavier looks at Ororo, "I lost two dear people that day."

"It was good to see you when we are not in a life threatening situation, Eric, like this is any better.  Ororo, Hank, let us return."  It begins to drizzle.

The Road:

Scott is driving, images of them together run through his head: Power Surge, Cruise Control, Day of Recovery.  The have fought, they have loved, even if they were not aware of it, now she is gone.  He is taking it hard, like only one in love would.  He pulls over at lookout point, and watches the sunset amongst the rain clouds.  It begins to drizzle on him again.  He makes no attempt to get out of the rain.

The Institute, the Danger Room:

Cyclops is in the Danger Room.  Two massive blades come toward him from opposite sides, he ducks and slides under them, as they begin to tear apart each other.

From outside Logan sees the danger light on, he gets curious so he proceeds to the control room.

A row of flaming jets emerge from the floor, spraying death at a 45 degree angle.  Cyclops back flips over the flames them, then aims and takes the entire row out with a single blast.

Logan smiles.

The bottom of the room is filled with fog.  All of a sudden darts come flying from all around.  Scott blasts some of them out, but he is hit by several in his back.  One hits him in the leg.  He starts limping.  Massive balls and chains begin to swing from the ceiling.  Scott runs down the center, dodging a few.  All of a sudden a chain link fence pops up in front of him, he runs into it and it electrocutes him.  He jumps back.  A ball knocks him to the side.  He rams against a wall, and falls down as the ball swings back over him, missing his nose by a hair.  Flying blades head towards Cyclops, he knocks two out with his optic blasts but he is forced to dodge the third one.  A ball hits him again.  He blasts it down, breaking the chain, but he is still flying through the air.  Another ball hits him.

Logan hits a red button in the control room, a voice announces, "Logan's Run Course 4 Canceled."

Logan runs down to Cyclops.  Cyclops is lying on the ground grabbing his stomach.  Logan pulls a handful of darts out oh Cyclops's back.  "What do you think you were doing?  You could have been killed."

"Sometimes, that doesn't seem so bad," Cyclops spits out blood.

Kitty runs in interrupting them, "Hey Professor Logan, there is that guy outside from shield, wants to talk to you about Omega Red."

"Next time, Scott, at least make sure I'm with you here, wouldn't want you to have all the fun."  As Wolverine leaves he walks by a massive swinging ball, slicing a chunk out of it.

"Wow, what happened to you?" Kitty asks.  Scott just stands up in pain and walks off.

Later that day, in the main room:

Xavier comes through the door.  Kitty and Kurt are at a table doing something.  A bruised but otherwise ok Scott is looking out the window.

"Kurt, Kitty, please leave us."  Xavier requests.  The two oblige, but whisper to each other.

Scott remains stoic, not even turning around until Xavier address him directly, "Scott, I know what you are going through."

"You, how could you.  At one point or another, I have lost everyone I care for.  My parents, at one time my brother.  I haven't felt this way about anybody else, and now she is gone."

"Everyone goes through this one point or another."

"Yeah, well I'm sick of it, if anyone should have died it should have been me.  She didn't do anything to anyone, and now, because of that, she's six feet deep."

"It a part of life, at some time or another…"

"No," Scott yells, "You don't know what I'm going through, you never will.  To you she was just another one of your projects, like me, like all of us.  I don't know if I want to put up with this.  I'm leaving."

"You didn't know how I felt about her, how I feel about all of you."  An angered Xavier turns around.  Kitty and Kurt are peeking through the door.  "Get out of here."

Scott gets up, "Maybe I will too."  He storms through the door, "I'm getting my stuff and blowing this popsicle stand."  As he opens the door he hits Kitty and Kurt, Kitty just phases threw but Kurt is pushed back.  Scott seems indifferent.

The Cemetery:

A sharp flame descends into a recent grave, covered in flowers.

The Pathway to Death:

Jean is surrounded by black abyss, she steadily approaches a bright light in the distance.  

"Jean," she hears an echoing voice.

She turns around: she looks everywhere.  The perspective is spinning around her.

"Who are you?"

The older Jean materializes, surrounded in flames.  "You must return."

"Why, I want to go," Jean points toward the light, "its… peaceful."

"The world needs you," scenes of apocalypse flash around her.  "He needs you," scenes of Scott, undoubtedly more moving appear, especially the one long one of him holding her body in his arms.

She lets out a few tears.  "Okay, what must I do."

"Take my hands."

Flames consume them both.  The younger Jean yells in pain.

The Cemetery:

An explosion blows Jean's grave away.  Flames burst into the sky.  Both Jeans are soaring through space.  The rings of Saturn quiver in their wake.  They pass up quasars, they fly through nebulas, they enter a black hole dead on.  The come streaming out the other side as the hole collapses in on itself blowing the craters and mass out in a trail behind the two.  They are both yelling in pain.  They pass through the sun, the plasma trails them toward the Earth.

Jean's House:

A white cat sitting on Jean's bed scampers off.  The two land in their childhood room by blasting a hole through the roof.  Younger Jean grabs her head.  "I can hear it… Get it out."  Elder Jean is on the floor, her breath is taken out of her.  "Scott, it hurts!!!" she yells.

Elder Jean gets up, "My bond is weak, but maybe it still listens."  "Sleep" she commands.  Jean stops yelling and passes out.  She falls to the floor Levitating inches off the ground. 

The older Jean moves her to the bead.

The Mansion, outside:

Scott runs.

Professor Xavier is talking to Logan.

"Well speak of the devil, heard you were going it solo"  Logan exclaims as Scott runs up.

He is out of breath, "Jean, she's alive."

"Now Scott, you have to face reality sometimes," Charles explains.

Scott begs, "No, no, just check Cerebro, please."

"Better humor the kid, Chuck," Logan interposes.

Cerebro Room:

Xavier focus in the scene appears in front of him:

The elder Jean levitates young Jean onto the bed.  The elder Jean stands over young Jean, a single tear falls down.  Just as it is about to reach younger Jean a flame flies out of her hand and consumes the tear.  The younger Jean stays levitating above the bed.  Elder Jean flies out the hole in the roof.

Xavier steps back from Cerebro.  He ponders a second.  He looks at Scott and Logan.  "They are alive, but I don't know how.  We'll leave first thing in the morning."

Logan is taken aback, "How can it be?"

Xavier rolls out.  Scott looks at Logan, "They?"

Jean's House:

Jean's parents drive up and see the hole in the roof.  Jean's mom gasps, "Oh my."

They approach her room.  Jean is in a "Power Surge" position.  John Grey walks in.  A flame shoots out of Jean and throws him back out against the door onto a couch in another room.

The following day:

Hank chauffeurs Xavier and Scott up to Jean's house.  A blue tarp is flapping over the roof.

"Scott, you will want to go in, I doubt John will welcome me at the moment."

Scott knocks on the door.  John Grey opens the door.  The white cat runs out and rubs up against Scott.  "Is Jean here."

"You know she died, now go away."  Mr. Grey ruffly commands.  As he is closing the door Elaine Grey, Jeans mother walks up behind Mr. Grey and grabs his arm.  "Let him in."  John Grey obliges.

The older Jean down the road, in the bushes, sees Scott, she feels the ring on her finger, and then she runs off and cries.

Professor Xavier senses something.  He gets out of the car, Hank requests to follow, but Xavier refuses the invitation.  Professor rolls to the next door neighbor's back yard, over toward a tree house.  "Jean?"

The older Jean, crying, "Not right now Charles.  I didn't want to do it, but I had no choice."  She levitates down and Xavier sees her face, and older face.

"What has happened?"

She runs off, Xavier tries to follow.  Jean locks up his wheel chair.

Jean's house, Upstairs:

We cant get near.  Sarah, her sister, sits near the room.  She throws a notebook on the ground into her room.  Zap!  The notebook burns as it flies out the door.  Elaine stomps it out.  She smiles, "My Chemistry."

Elaine explains, "We're afraid, we don't know who to go to, the hospital can't help us, and John won't let us…"

John coughs in a be quiet sort of way.

Scott approaches, Elaine tries to stop him.  Flames consume Scott.  He pushes his way toward Jean.  The closer he gets toward Jean the harder he is pushed away.  He reaches her hand.  At that point he is blown off his feet.  He still manages to clasp her hand.

Scott yells, "Jean, I love you."

Jean falls to her bed.  She looks up, "Scott, hold me."


	2. Awakening

"The Phoenix Awakens"

by Darkstorm Anon, DarkstormAnon@hotmail.com

August 6, 2003

Ok, this time I'm writing it in Microsoft Word, so there should be less grammar errors, (yeah, last time I spelled Phoenix wrong through the whole last chapter) but please, anyone, review this and tell me what you think, as long as you have an opinion.  My email address is DarkstormAnon@hotmail.com.  This is the continuation of "The Phoenix" that I wrote earlier, and I know it totally screws up the Phoenix plot, but hey, I like it.  Anyway, I think its better than the whole Alien deal.  I also think its kind of weird that my first piece was more of a romance thing between Scott and Jean, while this one has a lot of action, but it still has too much dialogue for my taste, but the plot demands it.  Enjoy.

Jean's House:

Jean Gray is in her bathroom.  She levitates her toothpaste towards her, something she has done a multitude of times, only this time, it is different.  Sparks fly from her fingertips (yeah I know, Witchy Woman, but its just a coincidence) (not a Beserker spark, more of a fiery one) toward the toothpaste, exploding it all over her and the bathroom.  She screams, her father runs up to her and looks around.

The Morlock's Sewers:

A figure approaches through the darkness.  The spikes are seen off of the figures back.  Calysto looks at him, "Spyke, we were worried about you since Apocalypse attacked."

"He is ill" Caliban moans as he staggering back.

"What are you talking ab(out)…" Calisto is pinned to the wall by spikes on either side of her neck.  She gasps for air.   The morlock that can paralyze people jumps at Spyke as he just turns around and she lands on his back.  She yells in pain as she falls back.

The morlocks desperately try to fight Spyke, but he is too much for them.

The struggle is seen by their silhouettes, the Morlock's attacking Spyke, Spyke prevailing.

Caliban alone runs away through the sewers.

Outside the Mansion:

A robed figure flies toward the outer door of the mansion.  It is dark, so the first thought is Magneto, but the figure seems more feminine.  She reaches toward the handprint/genetic scanner by the gate.  It chirps, "Identity, Jean Gray.  Security systems disabled." (or whatever it says in Mindbender).  She approaches the front door; it opens before her.

Charles' Room:

Charles is seen in his bed.  A voice awakens him, "Charles, wake up, I need to talk."

"Jean?" he replies.

Seconds later the lady walks threw the door.  Kurt and Kitty, following her, (being the nosy night owls that they are, and no, they don't like each other in that way, they're just friends.).  Walk in and ask the professor who she is.  "Let's just say she is an old friend, one that I am very upset with right now."  The duo walk away confused but curious.  Back in the room you see them peak through the wall, overhearing the conversation.  Xavier angrily states, "Just what do you think you were doing, giving her that power when she can barley control her innate ones."

The lady responds, "I had no choice, it had to be done so history could be fulfilled and humani…" She is broken off by Xavier.

"Kurt, Kitty, what did I tell you.  Get back to your rooms immediately," he said in a stern, serious, on the verge of angry voice.

As the two walk out a red strand of hair is evident outside the mysterious lady's cape.   Kurt comments, "Wow, I've never seen the professor like that before, I guess loosing Jean has really pushed some of his buttons."

Kitty replies, "Gee, I don't know what his problem is, I just wanted to know who that lady is."

At that moment Caliban busts through the door, he speaks to the two kids caught off guard, "I must speak to Charles Xavier, and Jean Gray."

"Jean's dead, but Xavier is right this way."  Kurt leads.  He knocks on the door, "Caliban is here to see you."

Xavier replies, "Yes, I know, let him come in."

Immediately Caliban lets out in his own weird way, "The morlocks, Apocalypse was after them because of me… Now…"

Xavier interrupts again, "Kurt, Kitty, please leave."  They teenagers leave the trio alone.

"Man, what's up his britches tonight?" Kurt remarks.

It dawns on Kitty, "Jean?"

Rogue's Room: (well sometimes she and Kitty share rooms and sometimes not.)

Kitty shakes Rogue to wake her up, "Hey guess what just happened."

"Do you know what time it is?"

Apocalypse's lair:

Mesmero stands in front of  Apocalypse's throne.  He speaks to a group of mutant cohorts.

"We were hoping to capture the one called Caliban in order to locate the force, but instead of him, we have found another Pestilence.  The strongest will be brought together, and will be formed into avatars of amazing power, and the weak shall perish in the fire, thus the world will finally be in his image."

Spyke, a noticibly different Spyke, a much stronger Spyke, covered in oozing green mess, steps out from the shadows.

Omega Red approaches from another side.

"You too can be a horseman with incredible power, like Pestilence or War.  And the stronger and more willing you are, more power will be yours."

Jean's Dorm at a College in New York:

Jean is talking on the phone to Scott, "You would not believe what happened to me two nights ago, I think I may have pyrotechnic abilities now, it all started with toothpaste."

"Toothpaste?" Scott laughs, "what did you do, light it on fire?"

"Actually I blew it all over the bathroom, it took half an hour just to clean it up, but I think I'm getting it under control."  Jean picks up a pencil on her desk as it catches on fire.

"Sorry I couldn't get a hold of you last night, with you moving into your dorm and all, but Professor sent me to pick up Alex.  He wants to put blocks in as many mutants as he can to keep Apocalypse or Mesmero from controlling them, yeah, he's been really edgy lately."

" I imagine so, with Apocalypse out there."

"He hasn't even told the other students your alive yet."

"He hasn't?  Well he's made it quite clear that while I can visit the institute I need to get my parents express permission to go in on any missions, that's so unfair, I'm 18 now, an adult by myself, and with Daddy so freaked out I doubt he'd let me do anything, he was about to not let me go to college.  "

Hank McCoy leans over to Scott in the co-pilots' chair, "That's enough Romeo, ahh, 'You are a lover. Borrow Cupid's wings', so you can land this thing"

"Well, I gotta go, I'll see you later."

As they land Kurt bamfs in, "Hey Alex, long time no see.  Scott  the professor has an important announcement to make but he was waiting for you to land, something big is going down, even Magneto is here."

The Dining Hall:

The X-men are sitting around the table as always, each talking about the going ons of the previous night.  Caliban is there as well as Magneto.  But the cloaked stranger is absent.  Xavier arrives, "X-men I have gathered you here today because you face your greatest threat by far.  In three days we will be facing Apocalypse."  The crowd murmurs.  "Not only that but we will need all the help we can muster.  I have invited Magneto's Acolytes and…"

"Sabertooth" Wolverine hisses.

"No, you'll find that traitor noticeably missing," Gambit spits.

"Anyway," Xavier continues, "I have also invited the brotherhood."

"What!" Scott cries, "this is just like Mystique running the show!"

"I'm sorry, I have no choice." Xavier pushes on, "With Mystique in stone their beef with Apocalypse dwarfs their previous complaint with us, they were more than happy to agree to fight with us.  Plus they do have fighting experience."

"I cant allow this," Scott says.

"You have no choice.  Although you may be the deputy leader of the X-men I am ultimately the final say."

"Then I must threaten to leave."  Scott stands up in a threatening posture.

Xavier forcefully continues, "And Jean will also join us."  Scott sits back down.

"You must be loosing your marbles Prof," Tabitha laughs, despite the serious situation, "We all know that Jean is dead."

Scott and Xavier just look at her.  Scott says, "But she says you wouldn't let her join us without her dad's permission."

"I won't let her, but she will come anyway."

The group just looks around at each other with a stun confused look, obviously Xavier and Scott were in on something none of them knew anything about.

"You have two days to return.  If you still want to go up, with your parents permission of course, meet back here, otherwise stay at home.  I have protected you all from his most basic mental attacks, but I cannot guarantee your safety either here or away.  Now I will be away myself for a few days.  I need to guard everyone I can.  Oh yes, nobody tell Jean about this, especially you Scott."  He gets up and leaves as Wolverine follows him out the door.

Later that Day:

Boom Boom and Kurt are playing video games against each other.  Kurt laughs, "Yeah, I'm beating you!"  Tabitha smiles as she slips a little firecracker underneath him.  It pops.  Kurt bamfs to the ceiling.

"Oww, why did you have to do that?"

She chuckles, looking at the game, "and that my friend, is the finishing move."

The screen shows some cheesy mortal combat type game and the blue character is knocked on the floor by the woman with a big "KO" on the screen.

"I'll get you for this."  Kurt teleports on top of her, standing on her shoulders.  He then is on the ceiling and is letting Tabitha fall.  He then teleports below her and catches her as she is about to hit the floor and bamfs away.  Both land safely on the couch.

"Oh yeah," Boom Boom charges up her hand full of firecrackers, "two can play at this game."

"Oh no" Kurt says.

Jean walks in the door.  Both look at her stunned for a minute.  Both run up to meet her.  Tabitha hugs her.  Kurt looks like he's about to hug her, but then sticks out his hand in a weird, I want to hug you but I don't know if I'm supposed to because you're a girl way.  Jean looks at him, "What are you doing you silly goof?"  She hugs him anyway.

"Its so great to see you Jean."  Tabitha exclaims, "we all thought you were dead."  She belts out, "Amara get down here Jean's here!!!"  She turns back to Jean, "What happened?"

Jean runs her hand through her hair and looks at the ground, "I don't really know for sure."  She looks up and changes the subject, "But look what I can do now.  She picks up one of their game controllers and unplugs it from the console and brings it her way."

Amara pounces down the stairs, "Jean!!!  I thought you were dead"  She is crying with happiness.

"Hey, look what I can do, I have your powers now too."  She picks up the controller, levitates it closer than, CRACK, a flame flies from her to the controller as it incinerates.

Boom Boom staes, "Wow, that is rocking"

"Man, we only have so many of those," Kurt moans.

"But you're not supposed to be playing video games in the first place."

"But the professor is letting us do anything we want until tomorrow, he's gone." Kurt, curtly responds (haha Kurt, curtly…).

Scott is walking by on the phone, "Come on Jean, pick up."

"Ahem" Jean coughs.

Scott looks at her, drops the phone, runs and picks her up.  "I havn't seen you in so long."

"Its only been four days."

"Well, it seems like a lifetime."  They look at each other for what seems like forever.  (hey this is TV 10 seconds seems like forever)  "Oh," he puts her back down.  "I was calling because I have to take Alex back home.

"Something's wrong," she says worriedly as she touches his face.

"The professor won't let me say."  Scott says.  But he doesn't notice Jean overhears him thinking, "I don't want her to know we are going up against apocalypse again."  She puts her hand over her mouth.

Rogue walks by the hallway Jean senses her thinking, "Great, now that little Miss Peacock is back in the picture its not I'll never have a chance with Scott, not that I ever would have anyway."  All of a sudden she can hear everybody thinking at once: Scott, Kurt, Tabitha, Amara.  She levitates into the air, grabbing her head, echoing Power Surge.  A haunting voice calls out, "Jean"

"Jean, are you all right?" Scott looks up concerned.

She comes back down, "Yeah, its just sometimes I feel that… you know… something is inside of me."

Scott looks deep in her eyes.  Just then Alex bounces in, "Hey bro, look at my new outfit."  Alex is decked out in full X-men garb.

Scott scoffs, "Dude, your not on the team, where'd u get that?"

"But hey, I got the powers."  He zapps blindly out a window..

"It takes more than, do you know how hard we've been training?"

"But hey, I want to fight Ap…"  Scott puts his hand over his brother's mouth.

"Look who's here, Jean."  Scott steps on his foot.

"Oh, hey Jean, heard you were dead or something."

"Yeah, you know how rumors are."  She flicks back her hair.

"Now get out of that and let me get you to the airport."  He looks to Jean, "Professor has the Jet right now."  Scott pecks her on the cheek.  "I'll see you later."  The two brothers run off.

"Show us more of your powers," Amara begs.

"Sure," she looks where Scott ran with a worried look.

The Next Afternoon:

The cast is gathered in the living room.  There are some noticeable exceptions, for example Sunspot, Multiple Man, and Cannonball.  All of the older X-men are there.  The The Acolytes are in one corner, and the brotherhood in another.  Kurt is chasing Todd around the room.  The X-men talk to each other.

Bobby asks Kitty, "How did you talk your parents into letting you come?"

She smiles, "I didn't tell them what we were going to do."

Bobby laughs, "Yeah, I told my parents I was just on break for the weekend."

Kitty reaches up and pulls Kurt down from his fun.

"Oh why'd you go and have to do that?"  Toad looks back and sticks his slimy long tongue out at him.

Kitty whispers, "Why do you suppose Wanda isn't trying to tear apart her dear sweet dad?"

Kurt shrugs his shoulders then bamfs off, landing on top of toad.

Logan looks down at Scott sitting and grins, "No Sabertooth."

Xavier sits outside the door with Ororo. "Professor, are you ready to go in."

"Quiet she is contacting me."  A picture of the older Jean talking appears overlaying Xavier's face.  Xavier looks up immediately.  "Manhattan, he is going after Mr. Worthington.  Oh, no, I forgot to protect him."  He looks up at Ororo.  "Let's go in."

He goes in the room.  "Quickly, we must make our way toward Manhattan.  He is going after a man by the name of Warren Worthington the third.  Some of you might better know him as the Angel."  Kurt and Toad fall into line when the Professor walk in.

Rogue looks up concerned, "Why would he be going after him?"

"Apparently our old friend Apocalypse is going after the world's most powerful mutants," Magneto contended, "the only reason he doesn't have most of us is because of your professor's powers.  He has already gathered quite a few… associates."

"I will separate you into groups."  Xavier went on, "The Black team will consist of the Acolytes, led by Magneto of course.  Green: The Brotherhood will be lead by Avalance.  Red team: Scott, you will lead Rogue, Boom Boom, and Magma.  Blue team: Nightcrawler will lead Shadowcat, Beserker, and Iceman.  Instructors, you will be the White team, lead by me, Storm will be my second.  Any questions?"

Scott jumps up, "You said Jean was going to be here."

"She will be.  Now before we get on"

Toad jumps up, "Yeah, were here to bag Apocalypse right."

"Yes."

"Well, you see, I'm starting to have second thoughts."

Fred grabbed him, "Don't worry, we'll be there for you."  Blob gives Toad a noogie.

Brotherhood, you will ride up there with us, Magneto, Hank, I have given you directions to his penthouse.  Now I must go to business.  Oh yes, and Logan, don't get too caught up with Sabertooth or Omega Red."  Logan growls.

Manhattan at Dusk:

The X-Jet pulls above the roof.  Xavier looks up.  "He's not there."  Warren is eating dinner at a fancy restaurant with an attractive lady when Xavier contacts him.  He excuses himself and goes to the bathroom.  "I must be loosing my mind."

He hears Xavier's voice again, "Warren, this is Xavier."

"Umm, hello."  He looks into the mirror.  The bathroom attendant looks at him with a weird look.

"This is very important, your life is in grave danger.  Where are you?"

"Swordfish's Flight"

"We'll be right there, and Warren."

"Yes?"  he responds awkwardly.

"Be very careful."

He walks out the door and looks out the window.  They are on the top story of a skyscraper.  Just then on the stage the string band is pushed out of the way by a weird force appearing.  Apocalypse's ship materializes.  Out steps Apocalypse and Omega Red, a more enhanced Omega Red from the last encounter.  Spyke emerges, in all of Apocalypse's disgusting glory.  Mesmero stays behind Apocalypse.  Sabertooth saunters out, smiles at the stunned crowd, grabs a filet of fish off a nearby plates, takes a bite, smiles, and roars.  The crowd jumps up and makes a mad dash toward the door.  Warren runs back into the bathroom.  Yells at the attendant, "Get out!  There is a monster out there."  As soon as the attendant hits the door, Warren changes into his costume, Angel.  He flies through the door.  The X-Jet pulls up on the roof. Bezerker busts the roof open.  The brotherhood and the blue team jump out into the room. Nightcrawler grabs Beserker, and Avalanche and teleports them into the room.  Shadowcat grabs the Blob as they fall through the roof.  Avalanche catches Shadowcat as the blob falls on his butt.  "Oww," he complains.

"Well I couldn't catch you," Avalanche comments, Shadowcat giggles.

Toad picks up the Scarlet Witch as he jumps down in there.  She steps on his foot as they reach the room.

The X-Copter carries the Red team.  Scott blows a whole in roof as a rope decends into as the room.  "Go," commands Xavier to the rest of the white team.  They jump in.  Magneto flies over to them and brings Xavier down into the room with him.  As they land Magneto's orbs come crashing through the window.  The orbs open to let the Acolytes out.  The scene freezes a minute, as both groups look at each other.

Nightcrawler looks out, "Spyke? Is that you?  But why?"

"Guess."  He launches a spike right at him.  Kurt teleports away as it sticks in the wall.  It is clearly oozing some green gunk out of its tip.

Angel busts out of the restroom, heading strait toward apocalypse.  Mesmero looks out from the vessel.  Angel runs into the ground holding his head.  Angel stands back up, looking evil, and stares at the X-men.  Xavier notices Mesmero and directs a psychic blast towards him.  Apocalypse puts up a psychic shield and deflects the blast back, directly toward Xavier.  Xavier is knocked back in his chair.  Magneto looks at the unconscious Xavier, "The fight has begun."

Storm commands, "Red team, take down angel.  Brotherhood, get Spyke, and try not to hurt him."

Wolverine growls, "I'll take on Sabertooth."

"Fine, you get Sabertooth, the rest of us white will get Mesmero and Apocalypse, Magneto, split your group to attack Apocalypse and Omega Red.  Blue team, just fight."

The fight commences. Storm flies toward Apocalypse.  Angel intercepts her, squeezing her.  Magma throws up a fireball but Rogue stops Magma, "No, he has Storm."

Pyro engulfs Omega Red in a fireball, but Omega Red runs right towards him and wraps around his neck with his tentacles.

Speed is buzzing around the room, not getting in anyone's way, but not really helping either.

Scott blasts Angel down.  "Now I'm going for Omega."  He runs off as angel gets back up.

Boom Boom lets off a volley of her explosives as Angel flies out of them and hits Boom Boom on the head.

Wolverine and Sabertooth duke it out.  Sabertooth throws a table at Wolverine.  He slices it, takes a leg of the table, swings around and launches the table back at Sabertooth.  Magneto takes all the forks and cutlery, orbiting around his head and sends it hurtling toward Apocalypse.  Apocalypse stretches out his hand and the projectiles hit an invisible shield.

Sabertooth jumps on Wolverine, but Wolverine catches him by his feet and sends him flying out the window.  Wolverine jumps after him.  They fall down stories.  Wolverine is intent on his prey.  Sabertooth hits his head on a ledge on the way down and starts spinning.  He ultimately falls through a covered walkway, cushioning his fall.  Wolverine comes down, catching his claws on a light post, swinging around it, spiraling to the ground.  As soon as he lands the shredded light post splinters into curls.  He runs over to Sabertooth, "Game over, bub."

The blob murmurs to toad, "If we cant touch him, we'll take on someone else."  They leave Toad to Avalanche and Wanda, those who don't have to touch him.

Nightcrawler is bouncing around the room, landing on the Angel's back, then the angel rams him against the ceiling or a wall, he teleports away, then teleports back.  The angel corkscrews and spins, sending Nightcrawler flying.  He is stunned and dizzy.

Avalanche is just beginning to get his rumble on.  Wanda stops him, "No, skyscraper, think."

Spyke looks down from the window and sends a spike directly into Wolverine's back.   Sabertooth looks up at the window, then looks at Wolverine, "No, game's over for you."  As Sabertooth rolls over another spike lands right where Sabertooth's head was.  He looks up.  Spyke, from the window, gives Sabertooth a mean look.  Spyke looks back.  Wanda hexes him.  He flies into the roof, sticking to it, with his spikes and all.  A spike emerges from a hand of his still free, and he spikes the Scarlet Witch, knocking her out.  The ground starts to shake under them.  Spyke hits him with one of his poison darts too.  He digs his elbows into the ceiling, pushing himself out.

Magneto rips a steel beam out of the wall.  He yells to Gambit.  As it flies by Gambit, he pauses from launching his explosives, and charges the beam.  Magneto wraps the charged beam around Apocalypse's ship.  A massive explosion rocks everyone back.

The dust clears.  There is no sign of Apocalypse's vessel.

Everyone is stunned.

A light flashes where Apocalypse's ship was.  It reappears.  Iceman attempts to ice the doors shut, but it is no use, it opens anyway.

The Stairway:

Sabertooth is dragging Wolverine up the stairs by the feet.  Wolverine's head is hitting along each step.  He is being dragged face down.  The spike still hangs in his back.  Sabertooth emerges through the door, grinning with his stolen prey.

Storm rises through the air, stunned, but otherwise fine.  She summons the elements lightning and directs it toward Apocalypse.  He instinctively puts up his arm, extending his shiled, bouncing the electrified heat back toward her.  Knocking her down once again.

Magneto yells, "Do not try to attack him directly, he will throw your own assaults back at you."

The blob throws Toad.  The flying toad goes careening through the air, landing squarely on the Angel's back.  The Angel flies outside the building and does a nose-dive.  Toad's cheeks flap in the force of the wind until he is forced to jump off.  He lands on the side of a building.  Angel turns around to squash the Toad against the building.  Toad shoots his tongue at the Angel's face, "haha, can't catch what you cant see."  Angel immediately flies upward, pulling Toad with him.  "Ahh, loothing my gip."

Nightcrawler catches Toad falling.

Kitty goes up to Spyke.  He shoots at her but they go right through her.  She asks, "Spyke, whats gotten into you?"  She grabs him by the bottom of his feet and they start to sink through the floor.  She then jumps away, leeving Spyke entrapped in the ground.

Rogue is looking around not knowing exactly what to do.  Professor X warned her not to touch anyone under Mesmero's control.  She can't get close to Omega red.  She sees Sabertooth coming in the door.  She runs toward him.  He drops Wolverine, grabs the podium the waiters use to check people in, and throws it at her.  It hits her squarely on the head.  She falls over.  Sabertooth stands over her, "For one of the most powerful mutants, you sure are easy to take out."

Wolverine wakes up, his eyesight is hazy.  Obviously his healing factor is able to fight Spyke's poison.  He gets up, pulls the spike out of his back, looks at Sabertooth, "Get away from her."  He jumps on his back, digging his claws in.  Sabertooth yells in pain, but shakes him off.

"You know why short stuff?  The power, he promised me even more strength.  And with that I could take out you.  Not like I havn't been able to before."  He picks something up and throws it at Wolverine.  Wolverine dices it as he dodges easily.

The Beast is grunting like an animal and charging Apocalypse.  Apocalypse blasts beast back.  Beast grumbled, "So that too failed."  He looks up, "If I can get the king, I might as well go for the rook."  He jumps on top of Angel and covers Angel's eyes.  Beasts jumps off Angel.  He gets up to fight but Apocalypse motions for him to stay.

Mesmero yells to Sabertooth, "Get the one called Rogue here, she could still be useful."  Sabertooth looks back at Wolverine as Spyke spikes him again.  He looks at Spyke, "He was mine."  Spyke, still stuck in the ground just shoots a spike at Sabertooth.  Sabertooth dodges, grabbing Wolverine, not wanting to relinquish his prize so easily, and Rogue, and brings them back to the ship.

Boom Boom sees Spyke shooting Sabertooth, so she throws a firecracker at him.  Spyke launches a spike at the firecracker, then shoots Boom Boom.

The blob walks up to Omega Red, "You're pretty strong huh?  But can those metal things of yours move the unmovable?"

"You don't understand do you?  These tentacles just don't just squeeze, they squeeze the life out."  He wraps them around Blob.  The blob is in obvious pain, "And your loss is my gain."

"Not if I can help it." Speed buzzes around.

Omega Red is obviously not concerned.  Cyclops steps up.  "Let him go."

"Gladly," Omega Red drops the blob and picks up Cyclops.  Cyclops lets out his blast at him.  Omega Red laughs, "Oh yes, when Apocalypse upgraded my armor, he put some of that stuff that is in your visor.  And…" They are slowly enveloped in a fog of death. I've got these now, too."  Speed falls on the ground hacking.  Magneto pulls Omega out, and throws him against the ground.

Helicopters begin flying around, shining spotlights in the building.

"Boop, boop" an intercom outside says.  "We have you surrounded."

Mesmero command, "Return minions, we have enough for now.  Omega Red, kill them."

Angel is flying around the room in crazy circles, Iceman and Beserker are going after him, not having much luck, icing up the room and leaving craters.  Angel swoops down, snatching Xavier.

Magneto throws plates, silverware, candelabras, anything metal toward Angel, but as Angel dodges into the ship Apocalypse blasts Magneto back.

Omega Red fills the room with his deadly spores and returns to the ship.  Spyke make a circle around him in the floor with his spikes and is able to break free.

With Apocalypse's slaves assembled he returns to the nothingness from whence he came, only this time he left with Angel, Rogue, Wolverine, and the dear Professor Xavier.

Everyone in the room is coughing from Omega Red's spores.  Scott thinks, "Jean, I love you.  This isn't how it should end."

Jean's Dorm Room:

Jean hears Scott's voice.  She grabs her heart.  She stumbles outside.  She sees scenes of the battle, through Scott's eyes.  "No!!!"  The cosmic entity, the Phoenix, erupts from her.  She soars into the sky.

The Battle:

Everyone is on the ground, coughing, weezing, and not having a good time.  A fiery being descends to the center of the room.  Flames push out the spores in the room.  Scott looks up, "Jean?"

From outside the police men, swat team, and the army sit outside.  They are about to go inside.  The lead Swat officer motions with his fingers, one, two, three.

At the three, the roof of the building is consumed by the Phoenix's flames.  The flames rocket to the sky.

Xavier's mansion:

Flames fall from the sky.  The entire top floor has been transported, complete with the X-Jet and X-copter.  Jean runs to Scott.  He smiles, "Took you long enough."


	3. Abandonment

Abandonment

October 18, 2003

Darkstorm Anon,  DarkstormAnon@hotmail.com

Apocalypse's Prison:

Sabertooth kicks Wolverine, Wolverine is chained to a wall.  The chains themselves seem more woven then forged, melding into the wall.

"Wake up sleepy head," hisses Sabertooth, "we're going to have tons of fun together.  I can't kill you now, that just wouldn't be sporting, but torture is always a nice alternative.  Oh, and guess what I've got."

Sabertooth forces metal claws out of his hands, claws similar to Wolverine, except Sabertooth has four of them.  He has little control over them.  They jump out at once, his face twists with excruciating pain.  He lets out a moan.

"How original," Wolverine spits in Sabertooth's face.

"For that," Sabertooth threatens, "I'll be extra hard on your pet skunk over there."

The scene pans over to Rogue, similarly chained up.  Wolverine yells in pain as the torture commences.

The Mansion, Jean's Room:

Jean sees herself in her mind, she is surrounded by flames, she is struggling to escape, she has a hard time breathing.

Jean awakens.  Scott is shaking her.  She is out of breath.  "Jean, are you all right?"

Jean looks around.

"Jean, its our turn to take care of the others, but if your not feeling well."

"No, no, I'll meet you right there."  She reaches over to her lamp beside her bed.  Flames fly from her engulfing the lamp.  Scott jumps back.

"I'll get the light, we can get somebody to cover for us," as he turns the light on, they notice a scotched outline of the Phoenix around her bed.

Sunrise that day:

Kitty, Piotr, Amara, Todd, and a few of the others, not seriously hurt are taking care of the wounded.  Kitty drops a thermometer; both her and Piotr reach down for it.  Piotr accidentally knocks backward.  He helps her up, but she giggles and as she does so she phases through his hand and falls on her butt again.  They both laugh as Piotr picks her up this time.

 Todd tries not to let the other brotherhood members knows he cares, so when Fred wakes up he stops nursing.  Fred, and Todd interpose on John(Pyro) waching telvision and all three begin to play video games.

Apocalypse's Dungeon:

Mesmero and Sabertooth go up toward the energy door of the dungeon.  Lucid, the Morlock that can see through walls, opens the door for Mesmero and Sabertooth come in.  Torpid, The Morlock that can paralyze people at the touch walks away from a frozen Professor Xavier and goes out the door.  Mesmero looks into Rogue's eyes, then he goes to Wolverine, focusing his power on them, bending their minds, but not breaking them.  He bends down before the frozen Xavier and mutter, you certainly do good work don't you.  We'll see about that.  He looks over to Sabertooth, "Too bad that he put it in you too."

Sabertooth kicks the stiff Xavier, "What's the problem, just hypnotize him and get him to undo it."

Mesmero walks off, ignoring Sabertooth's comment.

Professor McCoy's Laboratory:

Kurt is helping Professor McCoy; both are wearing goggles.  Hank looks up from his microscope.

"While Spyke's poison is killing everyone else, Wolverine's healing factor built up immunity, and he left enough blood around to develop this little jewel.  Apparently the poison is a variant off of a bacterium carried by the rare octopus, the Hapalochlaena lunulata, off the northern coast of Australia.  The toxin is fatal, and one of the most deadly known to man, before with no cure, the only question is, is why did Apocalypse dilute it?"  Hank holds up a vial.  We should have enough for everyone.  They walk out of the room, with a cart of medical supplies.  They pass Gambit standing outside Cerebro.  He is leaning against the wall, with his staff leaning beside him, shuffling a deck of cards.

Kurt stops to talk.

"Why's magneto in there?"

"Dunno, guess he got some business that need to be done."

"I thought only telepaths could use it."

Gambit shrugs.

Outside:

Scott and Jean are sitting at the gazebo.  Jean is talking, "Sometimes I feel so alive, but afraid.  Also, its like I have something inside me, I don't know what.  I feel so contrasted, so confused.  I'm so afraid, but it feels so good."  She pauses, "Lately, I've been feeling like the stars are calling me."  She points at the sun at the sun, then closes one eye, holding her finger in front of it.

Scott ponders, "I don't know what your going through right now, but, I think you need to follow your inst…, if you feel like you need to figure things out…, we've all been going through a lot.  Do what you need to."

She's transfixed looking at the sun and her finger.  She hugs Scott, "Thank you."

She levitates out the gazebo toward the sunrise.  Manifesting itself, the Phoenix sprouts fiery wings, swallowing its avatar as she rockets toward the sun.

Inside:  
Stepping out of Cerebro, a wearied Magneto with a look of purpose on his face sets off.  Gambit gets up, following Magneto.

He passes through the main hall with the injured students.  Beast is teaching Amara how to administer shots, obviously injecting the antidote.

Piotr says to Kitty, "I must go, I have no choice but to follow that hate filled man."

Pyro and Fred are sleeping on the couch, and Toad is sleeping in front of it.  Each one with a game controller.  Todd is drooling on his controller.

Colossus and Gambit follow Magneto outside.  Magneto struts toward the wreckage from the previous night.  Magneto forges armor lining his helmet and bolstering his body armor.  Magneto creates a silver chariot oh his, one sphere.

The group behind him steps up to go but Magneto knocks them back.  "This is my fight.  You inferior beings have no place."

Scott still in the gazebo shifts his gaze from the sun to Magneto.

Magneto's silver ferry rockets him off.

Storm is upset; thunderclouds form overhead, "He knows where Xavier is."

Scott walks up, "Why is everyone doing that today?"

Space:

The Phoenix comes to gas giant, she takes the ring around the planet, pulls it around herself, and directs it into the planet, a series of explosions rocks the planet.  She herself then descends into the planet, it inflates and combuts, launching a shock wave.  The phoenix rockets out of it.

"I can create," Jean realizes, "The stars, they call me."

REWORK Jean soars toward two suns orbiting each other, a red and a blue one.  She flips down in between them.  The scene is from underneath her as she begins to suck the gas from both stars into her hands, as a new one forms around her.  She emerges from the cacophony and she pulls with her planets, still warm from the furnace.  The phoenix puts the planets in their orbits, their place.  Red ones, brown ones, exploding with molten lava, she cools one down to expose its blue tint, green ones, purple ones, big ones, small ones.  All put in their respective place.

Apocalypse's Place (a mountainous stone cold cavern with an eerie light at the top):

Juggernaut stands before Apocalypse's throne, in front of a bunch of mutants, red ones, brown ones, onces covered in sores, one with a bluish tint, big ones, small ones.  All put in Apocalypse's hierarchy.  Juggernaut was not happy with his place.

"I am the most powerful among you all, but you neglect me, you give this twerp here," Juggernaut points toward Spyke, "boosted powers, but I get squat, I could crush you all!!!"

Addressing Apocalypse directly, "Give me my powers, or I will tear this place down around you!!!  You hear me???"

Omega Red pulls rank.  "You, you cannot even handle the x-men, little children.  Us comrades, we all done something to deserve these powers; you are nothing but a whiney brat, the fruit of capitalism, you do not deserve even what you have."

"Oh yeah Boris?  Tell that to my fists" Juggernaut lunges at Omega Red.

Red attempts to wrap his tentacle around Juggernaut, Juggernaut smashes his tentacle and cleanly breaks it.  Juggernaut then takes his own tentacle and throws it into the crowd, a mutant stops it as the rest dodge out of the way.

Juggernaut jumps and lands on top of Omega Red, the ground crumples up underneath Juggernauts mass, launching Omega Red up in front of him, Juggernaut catches Red between his massive paws.

Pestilence leans back against the wall.  He points his hand, and shoots spikes at the latches on the back of Jug's helmet, unlatching them.  Juggernaut drops Red, turns around, addressing the more pressing concern, and tries to resnap the latches, but since they are behind him, they are hard for him to reach.  Spyke launches two more short ones at the latches on the front, popping them.  Juggernaut is going for Spyke at ramming speed.  Spyke secures a spike above his head in the wall.  He swings up, and flips over Juggernaut as Jug plows into the rock.  Jug turns around.  Spyke shoots a spike in Juggernaut's helmet.  Juggernaut breaks it half off, leaving the other half still in the helmet.

"Ha twerp, your puny splinters cant hurt me.  Spyke jumps up, apparently going for Jug head on.  Jug reaches up high, but at that instant Pestilence dodges down, pulling on the spike, using it as a fulcrum to launch jug's helmet into the sky.

"Noo," Juggernaut roars as Spyke slides between his feet.  Spyke gets up and brushes the dirt off.  Juggernaut plunges toward him.  Spike shoots himself over Juggernauts head.  Spike flips off Jug's back, then shoots a spike between Jug's feet as Jug turns, knocking him off balance, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Don't call me a twerp, weakling" Spyke impales Juggernaut verbally.  "Oh yeah, Red, now you can go for Juggie's head."

"My name is 'Omega Red'; you call me War!"  Omega Red shouts as he begins to suck the life out of Jug through a tentacle.

Apocalypse stands up.  He uses a burst to push back Omega Red.  A white light, streaming from Apocalypse himself, overcomes juggernaut.  The light subsides.  Juggernaut looks at his arms, he looks at his feet; he seems to lift off, inches above the ground.

"I, I can fly,"  a revived Juggernaut exclaims.

"Why," Omega Red questions to himself, "that feeble one has done nothing."

Rogue is led in chains.  The child captured earlier, Polaris, is the one dragging her by the magnetic powers Apocalypse had boosted.  Rogue screams with defiance, but it is no use.

Mesmero seizes control of Juggernaut; he falls into an instant trance.

Polaris forces Rogue's hand against Juggernaut's face.  She yells in defiance.

It gets longer.  She sees his past, his life, its now her life.  She feels that deep hatred for her brother, Xavier.  She feels the raw power of a human juggernaut surging through her, her feet lift from the ground.  It is starting to hurt, the pain, the searing.  She screams for it to stop; it does no good.

Mesmero is focusing all he can on Rogue.  Spyke looks at his hand, covered in green goo.  Other mutants begin to look around as Mesmero's mind is focused on Rogue.  A murmur begins amongst the once collard mutants.

Juggernaut, or now Cain Marco, falls to the ground, stripped of his powers, maybe even his mind.  Rogue stands there, panting.

The iron fist of Mesmero returns to the rest of the mutants.

Rogue rips off her chains.  They fall to the ground.

Mesmero returns to his quarters as the rest of the mutants go about their business.  Rogue follows Mesmero.

The Institute:

Eyes open, slowly, only to see the slime ball Todd staring strait down.  He flies against the floor, off of Wanda's cot.  Her eyes close back up.

"Yo sweetums? Aint u gonna thank the one who nursed u back to heath."  She doesn't hear him, she drifts in and out of conciousness.

Lance sees Kitty and Piotr, the ground shakes somewhat, then subsides.  Kitty runs over to him.  Lance closes his eyes again.

Ororo calls to Hank, "Some of them are coming around."

The Danger Room:

Cyclops is sitting in the danger room, thinking about what has happened, he fiddles with the controls, flipping the course to "Logan's Run".  He looks over at another monitor; Gambit is messing with Cerebro's computer outside.

Gambit flips around a card in his hand, the other one typing on the console.  The card in his hand is the queen of hearts.  He pulls out another card, charges it, and inserts it into the floppy drive.

Gambit goes off silently.

The dungeon:

Moisture drips from the ceiling, hitting Wolverine's leg.  He looks around; Xavier is still frozen, other mutants, mostly psychics are in the same state as he.  Wolverine is the only non-psychic mutant in there.  Obviously that is where they keep the uncooperative prisoners.  Torpid comes to check on them at regular intervals, touching all but Wolverine, leaving him up to Sabertooth.  Wolverine smells the air.  He growls, "Fear."

He hears the faint sound of snoozing, hoping it is the guard mutant Lucid that can see through walls, sometimes Calysto comes and they change shifts.

Wolverine unsheathes his claws.  He starts scratching at the wall behind him.  He tugs.  Crack!!! A huge chunk of rock breaks from the wall.  Wolverine quickly slices himself free.  He cuts through the door, the sleeping morlock awakens, and lets out a cry for help.  Wolverine swings the chunk of rock still fettered to his hand and knocks the morlock out.

Mesmero steps out, Sabertooth and Rogue are behind him.  "Ahh, I was coming down to see you anyway."

Mesmero focuses on Logan.  Logan falls to the ground in pain.  An image of Xavier blocks Mesmero's path, but then shatters.

Rogue begins to look around.  She looks at professor Xavier, she is obviously conflicted about her feelings toward Xavier.  Her face twits with anger, then she tries to suppress it.

Then an image of the doctor that gave Wolverine his bones appears.  Mesmero stops. Rogue returns to her controlled state.  She looks at Xavier, "I'll be coming for you."

Mesmero comments, "He has two blocks, he is not worth my time.  His powers have little concern for me."

Sabertooth explains, "Yeah, that was the Weapon X project."

Mesmero ignores him and walks off with Rogue.  "We will get another guinea pig."

The Mansion:

Cyclops and some of the team walk toward Cerebro, now we're going to find out where he's going.  They walk in, to find Cerebro nothing like they remember it.  Cerebro is like an inverted porcupine, metal stalagmites, tites, and everything in between pointing toward the center.  Hank summises, "He must have been honing his powers while looking for them, that's the only explanation."

As they gather in the main hall, the door creeks open.  Rogue steps in, wet from the rain formed earlier.  Storm exclaims, "Rogue you've escaped!"

 "Not quite," Rogue repeats.

They're all stunned.  Nightcrawler gets it, "I'll take her…" Nighty yells.

.

Cyclops acts, he blasts her with his optic beam.  She moves through it, "You think that fancy visor of yours can stop me?"

She lifts off, the team is even more confused.  Storm hits her with lightning but Rogue is unfazed.  Iceman freezes her in a cube.  She brakes the ice off with a simple flex.  Cyclops blasts her again.  Her gloves are torn off.  She jumps out of the beam and flies in circles around it.  She hits Cyclops with her palm squarely on his forehead.  He collapses on the ground.  Rogue picks him up by the scruff of his neck.  Nightcrawler bamfs on top of Rogue she brushes him off.  "I only have need one now…" she pauses, hisses, "brother."  She crashes through the wall in a superman pose, one arm ahead of her, the other carrying Cyclops behind her.

It happens so quickly; everyone is stunned.

Apocalypse's Lair, at the cold cave entrance:

In front of the cave, cars, tanks, boats crash, dirt and snow blast up in the air, creating a war zone before any battle has begun.  Magneto's orb descends into the center of the destruction area.  Magneto is surrounded by ammunition.  He floats out, yells, "Apocalypse, I have come for you."

The Institute, the Main Hall:

Some of the students wake up.  Bobby is talking to Professor McCoy, "I've managed to format only the bad sectors of the hard drive the log was on.  They're in the Himalayas."

Professor McCoy frowns, "Problem is we're down two adults, minus one deputy leader, and a few of our most powerful team members, especially Jean, and some of the Acolytes wandered off."  He ponders a moment more, "We have no choice to act."

A bar in the East:

Rogue is playing pool, alone.  She brings memories of Wolverine: tortured, alone.  A strange figure steps in from out of the cold.  His trench coat flips around his boots.  Some natives look stare, "You suppose he's another one of those freaks?"

Gambit saunters up to Rogue, whispers in her air, "Fancy running into you here, chere."  She jumps around and grabs him by the throat.

She puts him down, smiles, "Fancy running into you here."


End file.
